Static eliminator and printed sheet floating device



Dec. 19, 1933. EYLER 1,940,536

STATIC ELIMINATOR AND PRINTED SHEET FLOATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 19302 Sheets-Sheet l F. A. EYLER Dec. 19, 1933.

STATIC ELIMINATOR AND PRINTED SHEET FLOATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 19302 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patentecli Dec. 19,1933 L I i T UNlTED STTTATES PATENT.omc

p n e 1 7 1,940,536

I STATIC ELIMINATOR AND'PRINTED SHEET 7 FLOATING [DEVICE Frank A; Eyler,Harrisburg, Pal, assignor of one-v third to Charles A. Clouser,Harrisburg, Pa.

Application September 25, 1930 Serial No. 484,412

14 Claims; (01. 271-44) The present invention relates to improvementsthroughout the several views, the letter C desigin printing presses andmore particularly to imhates generally a reciprccaldelivery carriage ofprovements having, for an object thereof the disav conventional sheetprinting machine which're charge of: the static electricity coincidentwith, ciprocates on an elongated guide or frame F. the delivery of theprinted paper on the discharge The carriage C is adapted to receive theprinted to I table. i sheet from the cylinder of the press and dis-Another object of this invention is to provide charge the printed sheet,on a discharge table T. a static remover which is adapted to engage theIn the presses at present available, various moving paper atthedischarge end of the printmeans have been devisedfor, removing static or,1) ing press, the remover being connected to a, high the like from theprinted. sheet designated. S, frequency discharge current. these meansembodying in some instances an A further object of this invention is toprovide elongated burner which is adapted to project a in combinationwith a static remover,- means for flame onto the bottom of the movingsheet S, cushioning the delivery of the paper on the .delivth burnerbeing interposed. in an electrical dis 15 ery board so as to permit thestacking of the charge circuit. The burnermethod of'removing printedpaper in a relatively even stack.- I static presents a=flre hazard,particularly when Another object of this invention is to providethe'carriageC isstopped atany point inits line means by which thecushioning portion of the deof travel with the sheet 8 partiallyprojecting out vice is rendered inoperative during one moveofthe forwardend thereof. In order to eliminate 2o ment of the reciprocating carriageof the press this fire hazard and in addition thereto to elimiand torender the device operative on the other nate the static from thedelivered sheet and also movement of the carriage; toprovide acushioning means by which thesheet 'A still further object of this,invention isto which-is delivered from thej carriage will' hopeprovide adevice of thischaracter which maybe livered to the delivery table T, insuch manner 25 readily attached to any printing press having a that itwill readily stack in an even pile I have 80,

reciprocating carriage and also to any printing provided a combinationstatic eliminator and press wherein the delivery of separate sheets ofsheet cushioning or floating member which is genr paper is accomplishedat one end of the press. erally designated as 10 and is adapted to be .Afurther object of this invention is to elimmounted on the forward end ofthe carriage C by 30 inatethe fire hazard which is present in pressesmeans of straps- 11 or any other desired clampusing the flame fordischarge-of thestatic ing means; V v The above and various otherobjects and ad- The static eliminator and cushioning member vantages ofthis invention will in part be de- 10 comprises an elongated tubularbody-V12 which scribed and in part be understood from the folis providedwitha longitudinally disposed par- 35 lowing. detailed description of'the 1 present tition 13 dividing the interior ofthe body 12 intopreferred embodiment, the same being illusa pairof longitudinallydisposed compartments trated in the accompanying drawings wherein:- 14and 15. The compartment 14 is provided with Figure 1 is a sectional viewpartly in detail of a a longitudinally disposed slot 16'through whichladevice constructed according to the preferred emplurality of brushes 17are adapted to project,

40 bodiment of this invention mounted on a prihtthe brushes 1'7 beingpreferably of metal coning press delivery carriage; struction andsecured to a brush body 18 which a Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view ofthe device; is disposed in the compartment 14 of the tubular Figure 3 isa fragmentary top plan view of the member 12. The brush holder or body18 is prodevice; 7 c i l vided at one end thereof with a terminal 19which 15 gure 4 is a ud al ho izo tal Section is connected to anelectric discharge circuit dessubstantially through the center of thedevice; ignated generally as E andin which is interposed Figure 5 is asectional view of the device taken a high frequency coil 20. The highfrequency on theline fi -5 of Figure 3; coil is connected to. a sourceof electric supply 7 Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 21and one side of the electric circuit E is ground- 50 6 6 of Figure 3;and I a i, j 'ed as is also one side of the frame F of the print-"Figure '7 is a vertical sectional view taken ing pressso that acomplete electric discharge substantially through the valve and showingthe circuit will be provided by means of which the valve; in openposition. v j static electricity present in the sheet Swill be dis-Referring to the drawings wherein like characcharged. One sideofthe'secon'dary circuit of 55 tersof reference designate correspondingparts the coil 20 is grounded preferably to the frame of the press sothat a complete secondary discharge circuit will be provided.

The cylinder 10 is also provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 22in the chamber 15 which communicate with the atmosphere and the chamber15 is connected by means of a pipe connection 23 to a source of airpressure so that air under pressure may be forced into the chamber 15and be discharged through the spaced apertures 22. One end of thetubular member 12 is provided with a cap 24 and a restricted pipe 25 issecured to the cap 24, the tube 23 being mounted on the pipe 25. Theopposite end of the elongated body 12 is also provided with a closed cap26. The body 12 together with the partition 13 is preferably constructedof insulating material such as bakelite, hard rubber or the like, and ahood 27 is secured at one edge to the periphery of the body 12 and hasone edge thereof free, the free edge being disposed in spaced relationto the body of the tubular member 12 and disposed over the outletapertures 22 so that the air projected outwardly through the apertures22 will strike the hood 27 and be deflected in a plane substantiallyparallel with the plane of the discharged sheet S.

The brushes 17 are positioned in such manner that the upper ends thereofare slightly below the hood 27 so that as the sheet S passes over thefree end 28 of the hood 27, the sheet S will electrically engage thebrushes 1'7. If desired, the device herein disclosed may be mounted onthe carriage C and arranged so that the air under pressure will bedischarged through the apertures 22 during the entire time that theprinting press is in operation. However, in order to provide means bywhich the air under pressure will be discharged against the lowersurface of the sheet S only during the time that the carriage isreturning so as to receive a new sheet I have provided a valve V whichis interposed in the pipe connection 23, the valve V having a rockablevalve arm 29,- and a spring 30 is connected at one end to the valve arm29.

The spring 30 is connected at the opposite end to the tubular member 12or to the frame F, the connection at the lower end of the spring beingsubstantially in alignment with the axis of the valve V so that when thevalve arm 29 is swung in one direction, the spring 30 will constantlyhold the arm 29 so that the valve V will be open and. when the arm 29 isswung in the opposite direction or when the carriage is movingforwardly, the arm 29 will be held so as to close the valve. This spring30 is secured at one end at a point closely adjacent the conduit 23 andthe other end of the spring is secured to the valve lever 29 at a pointadjacent the upper or free end thereof so that when the valve is ineither closed or opened position, the spring 30 will have its upper enddisposed to one side of the valve V and will constantly hold the valvelever 29 in either closed or open position until the position is changedby engagement of the arm 31 with either of the tripping members 33 or34.

A rockable arm 31 is pivotally secured at one end to the carriage C at apoint spaced rearwardly from the valve V and the opposite end of therockable arm 31 is connected to the valve 29 by means of a link 32.

A tripping member 33 is'mounted on the frame F of the printing press ina position where it will strike the rockable arm 31 when the carriagehas reached the substantially complete movement in its return in theframe F so as to receive a new sheet of paper, thereby moving the arm 31forwardly and coactively moving the valve arm 29 forwardly and closingthe valve V so that when the carriage C moves outwardly toward thedischarge table no air will be projected through the air dischargingchamber 15. When the carriage C arrives at a point adjacent the outerend of the frame F and has practically completed its outward movement,the rockable valve operating arm 31 will strike a second tripping member34 which is mounted on the frame F and projected into the path of thearm 31 so as to swing the arm rearwardly and coactively swing the valvearm 29 rearwardly and open the valve V, thereby permitting the air topass through the valve V and outwardly through the air discharge chamber15 and onto the bottom of the sheet S as the carriage moves rearwardlyso as to receive another sheet of paper.

This discharge of air on the bottom of the sheet continues during theentire rearward movement of the carriage C and provides an air cushionbetween the sheet which is being discharged and the sheet which hasalready been discharged on the table T.

The tube 12 may also be provided with transverse partitions 35 and 36,the partition 35 being positioned in the air chamber 14 adjacent one endthereof and the end of the brush member 18 is adapted to engage againstthe transverse wall 35, the wall 35 limiting the inward movement or theinsertion of the brush body 18 in the tubular body 12. The transversepartition 36 is positioned in the compartment 15 and is positioned at apoint inwardly from the end of the tubular body 12 so as to permit thecap 26 to be removed from the body 12 Without disturbing the means forfloating the sheet of paper, and in like manner, the cap 24 may beremoved from the body 12 without affecting the operation of the staticbrush.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that the proper application of airto-the printed sheet as it is being delivered by the carriage will placea cushion of air between the delivered sheet and the sheets positionedon the delivery board so as to prevent offset of one sheet from theother, this offset being commonly termed smudging and that the sheetspositioned on the delivery board will not be packed as tightly as theywould be Without the use of the air cushion. Furthermore, the use of airunder pressure on the bottom of the sheet also serves as a drying mediumand through the elimination of the static as the sheet passes over thebrushes, the sheets do not have the tendency to stick together and arelatively thin film of air is retained by each sheet as it drops on thedelivery board.

Furthermore, in the static eliminating devices at present available thestatic eliminators are 1 positioned above the moving sheet and it isnecessary to place these eliminators a considerable distance from thesheet so as to allow sufiicient clearance for the sheet to pass betweenthe end of the carriage and the static eliminator.'

Through the combination herein disclosed, it is possible to position thestatic eliminator extremely close to the moving sheet, the hood 27holding the sheet out of contact with the brushes 17. It will thereforebe obvious that the distance between the bottom of the moving sheet andthe ends of the brushes 17 may be varied as desired without coming intocontact with the moving sheet by adjusting the tube 12 with respect tothe bottom of the sheet while mounted on the mamas and modificationsmaybe made in the detailsof V scope of the following claimszconstruction and design" of the aboveispeciflcally described embodimentof this invention without departing from the-spirit thereof,-suchchanges and modifications being restricted onlyby the What is claimedis:- I l, In-a'printing press having areciprocal de-' livery carriage,an elongated air nozzle secured to said carriage transversely of themovement thereof, said nozzle being adapted to horizontally project acolumn of air beneath the printed'sheet simultaneous with and during theperiod of the,

positioned transversely of the movement of the carriage, said tubularmember having a plurality of apertures therethrough, means forconnecting the tubular member to a source of air under pressure, saidtubular member being adapted to project a column of air beneath theprinted sheet during the outward movement of the sheetfrom the deliverycarriage.

3. In a printing press and in combination with a delivery carriage,meansmounted on the carriage whereby to project a column of air in aplane parallel to the plane of the printed sheet during the releasethereof from the carriage whereby to cushion the downward verticalmovement of the sheet on'the delivery table.

4. In a printing press having a reciprocal delivery carriage, anelongated tubular member having a plurality of spaced apertures there-'through, means for connecting the tubular memcharging operation of thesheet. from the carriage.

5. In a printing press having a reciprocaldelivery carriage, anelongated hollow body secured to one end of said carriage, said hollowbody having a plurality of spaced apertures therethrough,

means for connecting the body to a source of air supply, and adeflecting hood secured to the body and overlying the apertures wherebyto project a column of air beneath the printed sheet upon outwardmovement of the sheet from the car- 'riage, said hood projecting the airin a plane parallel to the plane of the delivered sheet during thedischarging operation of the sheet from the carriage. l I

6. In a printing press having a reciprocal delivery carriage, anelongated tubular body mounted on one edge of' the carriage and adaptedfor movement therewith, said tubular body having a plurality ofapertures therethrough, means for connecting said tubular body to asource of air supply, a valve interposed in said connecting means, andmeans interposed in the path of the valve whereby to move .thevalve intoclosed position upon movement of the carriage in one direction and tomove the valve into open position upon movement of the carriage in theopposite direction, said tubular body projecting air out- It is, ofourse, understood that various'changes 7. A printed sheetcushionin'g'member of -:the character described comprising" a hollowbody having a plurality' of vertically disposed apertures threthrough, 1means fonconnecting the" hollow body to a sourcefof air supply," and anelongated arcuate hood-secured to-the hollow bodyrand over-c lying theapertures whereby to deflect the -air in a horizontal planethe airdeflectedby said hood cushioningthesheet duringthe discharge opera- 8.In: combination with a reciprocal printing press carriage, a printedsheet cushioning member and static eliminator :of' the 1 character"described comprising an elongated hollow body having a plurality oflongitudinally disposed apertures therethrough, means, for connectingthehollow body tea-source of air supply, a deflector secured to thehollow body and adapted to deflect the air projected throughtheapertures in a plane parallel with the plane of the printed sheet, and ametallic brush element carried by the hollow body and adapted forelectrical engagement with the printed sheet.

9. In combination with a reciprocal printing press delivery carriage, anelongated hollow body having a plurality of longitudinallyspacedapertures, means for connecting the hollow body to a source of airsupply, means for projecting .a column of air through the apertures inaplane parallel to the plane of the delivered sheet, an

, 3 wardly of the" carriage and beneath the sheet in a plane parallel tothe sheet" during the discharge operation of the sheetfrom the carriage;j

electric discharge circuit, and a brush element carried by .the hollow"body and interposed in the discharge circuit, said brush element beingadapted to electrically engage the printed sheet for discharge of thestatic electricity therefrom through said discharge circuit.

; 10. In combination with a printing press having a reciprocal carriage,an elongated hollow body, means for mounting the body on one end of thecarriage, connecting means for connecting the hollow body to a source ofair supply, said hollow body having a plurality of longitudinally spacedvertically disposed apertures therethrough, an air deflector mountedon'the body and overlying the apertures whereby to project the air in aplane parallel to the plane of the discharged sheet and coactivelycushion the downward movement of the sheet on the delivery table, a highfrequency electrical discharge circuit, and a metallic brush elementcarried by the hollow body and adapted for electrical'engagement withthe sheet whereby to discharge the static electricity from the sheetcoincident with the delivery of the sheet from the carriage.

, 11. In combination with a printing presszhav ing a reciprocal deliverycarriage, an elongated hollow insulated body, a longitudinally disposedpartition in saidbody dividing said body into a pair of elongatedchambers, said hollow body having a plurality of longitudinally spacedvertically disposed apertures communicating with one of said chambers,means for connecting said one chamber with a source of air supply, aninsulated hood mounted on the body and overlying the apertures wherebytoproject the air in a horizontal plane beneath the delivered sheet, saidhollow body having an elongated slot communicating with the other ofsaid chambers, a brush member disposed in said other chamber andprojecting outwardly "through the slot, said brush member being adaptedto electrically engage the moving sheet delivered by the carriage, andan electrical discharge circuit connected to said brush memberwhereby todischarge the static electricity from the moving sheet upon electricalcontactoi the brush member with the sheet.

* 12. A static eliminator and printed sheet floating means comprising anair projecting member adapted to be mounted on a reciprocal printingpress carriage, said member having means whereby a column of air may beprojected in a plane parallel to the plane of the sheet during thedischarging operation oi the sheet, and electric discharge meansdisposed in a position beneath the sheet for removing the staticelectricity from the sheet simultaneously with the floating thereof.

13. A static eliminator and printed sheet floating means comprising airprojecting means for projecting a column of air beneath the sheet in aplane parallel to the plane of discharge of the sheetymeans for cuttingoff the column 01' air simultaneous with the completion of the dis'-charge operation, a metallic member disposed closely adjacent the lowersurface of the sheet during the discharging operation, and an electricdischarge circuit connected to the member whereby to set up anelectrical field between the member and the sheet for discharging thestatic electricity present in the sheet.

14. A printed sheet floating means adapted to be mounted on a printingpress having a reciprocal sheet delivery carriage comprising airprojecting means for projecting a column of air beneath the sheet in aplane parallel to the sheet for floating the discharged portion thereof;and means for cuttingoif the provision of the column of air followingthe release of the discharged sheet from the printing press sheetdelivery carriage.

FRANK A. EYLER.

